One of the other things that needs to be considered when looking at the
diversity in names of stitches in the English Language is that the
English traditions of lacemaking were heavily influenced over the years
because the country was a safe haven for lacemakers fleeing wars in
their own countries. Those immigrants brought with them their own
languages, and the resulting variations in names of stitches could well
be due to the efforts of various groups to translate into English
terms. And even now, we all know how difficult it is to translate some
foreign lace books to English precisely! ("There is no word for that in
your/our language" is often heard...)
Clay
On 3/20/2011 11:39 AM, [email protected] wrote:
One of the truly fascinating things about lace is how it is affected by and
connected to so many other things. Connected to history, economics,
emigrations, language. Different countries have different views of a national
language. I have not read too many French lace books, although I have read
several, and I do not find a great diversity in lace terms, although I
certainly may be wrong about this. But the French have L'Academie Francais,
which more or less regulates or at least regulated the language. I seem to
remember that the English tried to do this, and a vague recollection that
Jonathan Swift was associated with this, although again I could be wrong. In
any event, it didn't take. Regulation of the English language by an official
group just isn't there. I think that may be connected to the English/British
character. I think also, that same character is connected to lace terms. I
wonder if the craft of lacemaking never left the lace centers entirely, so that
t
he old terms, from the times long before the homogenizing effect of
television and widespread literacy, persisted. Surely there's a master's thesis
on this somewhere?
Lyn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, where the sun is shining, the birds are
going nuts, and spring is beginning, even if it's only 31F, 0C.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ilske Thomsen<[email protected]>
Sent: Mar 20, 2011 8:28 AM
To: Lace Arachne<[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [lace] 'Correct names'
Hello Alex,
for me it is still not really clear why the lace-making terms in English are so
different. When in 1911 in Bruges people who recreate a "course for lacemaking"
their main point was to find a language all Netherlands lacemaker should use in futur.
for example: ctc = linnenslag NL, Leinenschlag G
looking up this word in the International Lace Dictionary from Spee, van den
Kieboom and Coene nr 101 cloth stitch, whole stitch, linnen stitch E
three different terms for one. Linnen stitch would be the most fitting in my
opinion.
And if I am right at the same tim they invented the color code too. As I could
say the Germans takeover this system. In my opinion it could be overtaken in
English too.
We have in our country a lot of different words for things like picot or tally
because of the different dialects spoken in former time in the part today name
Germany. The AK history of Deutscher Klöppelverband works since years on a
dictionary for such words. In each magazine you find a new term with its
several different words used in different regions and its explication. There
will be work for a lot of other years i am afraid.
Ilske
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